I Think That She Knows
by ididthatonce
Summary: The love story between Kate Hummel and Blair Anderson.
1. Chapter 1

Kate Hummel prided herself on three things: her impeccable fashion sense, her level head in tense situations, and her perfect alto tone that both surprised and impressed those who heard it. So, it was easy to see that, improperly dressed and speechless in the middle of the Dalton School for Girls, she was completely out of her element. But, sure enough, she was surrounded by a sea of navy blue blazers in the main hallway of the school, being sung to- serenaded- by the most beautiful girl she had ever seen. The brunette had grabbed Kate's hand without so much as an introduction beyond first names, dragged her through the marble-floored hallway to the very antechamber in which they were standing. In which the girl was singing "Lovestoned" directly _to_ Kate.

Blair. Her name was Blair.

Her hair fell in soft, glossy curls over her shoulders. Her eyebrows, thick and sculpted, danced along with her body, showing off the full range of emotions she expressed. Her blazer ended just a few short inches above the hem of her gray wool skirt, and the knee socks and mary janes... Kate couldn't even bring herself to look that way. She knew her eyes would get caught on Blair's perfect knees (because why shouldn't her knees also be perfect?), and she would miss the cute smirks she was making and the way that the fluorescent lights caught the sparks of green and hazel in her eyes.

Wasn't it just yesterday that Kate had been pushed into a locker? That Dana Karofsky, the biggest bully to end all bullies, had elbowed her so hard that there was still a bruise on her ribs? That her teachers had told her to "buck up" through all her tears and write whatever essay they had required? And somehow, twenty-four hours later, Kate was looking directly into Blair's eyes as she sang lines like "she's got me sprung, and I think that she knows." Kate blushed against her better judgment, dropping her eyes to her own shoes. Curse her excellent choice in footwear... her bright red wedge heels stuck out amongst all the black mary janes and brown suede loafers of the feet around her.

Twenty minutes later, she was nervously shaking her foot under a table in the school's coffee shop. Blair was stirring a coffee and staring her down, two backup singers sitting next to her.

"I'm not spying, I promise." Kate sighed, picking at the plastic of her coffee cup's lid. Even looking at the cup, she could feel Blair's eyes on her. Finally, the words fell out of her mouth. "Okay, I came here to spy. But I have to say that I'm so impressed with the Warblettes that I don't know if I could even badmouth you guys back to New Directions."

Blair chuckled. "Badmouth us away. We're really not nervous about our chances at Sectionals."

Kate smiled for what felt like the first time in forever. The laughter subsided. "On a totally different note," she began, "can I ask about the school itself?"

Blair leaned back into her wooden chair and uncrossed her legs. "By all means, Kate."

Kate blushed at the sound of her own name on Blair's tongue. "Since Dalton is an all-girls' school, does it ever get, you know, catty?"

A mousy brunette on Blair's right snickered.

"We have a serious no-bullying policy at Dalton." Blair offered. "Why do you ask? Are you being bullied at school?"

Kate nodded, looking down at the pattern of the tiles on the table. "I kind of stick out." She said, pointing to her short blond pixie. "I'm the only openly gay girl at school. It sucks."

Blair shrugged. "I used to get made fun of at my old school. I would get called 'dyke' and 'lez' so much, I was scared they would put it as my name in the yearbook. But then I transferred here to Dalton, and things have been so much better."

With courage she didn't know she had, Kate looked into Blair's eyes, falling into the bottomless pit of her pupils. "Are a lot of the girls here...?"

"Lesbians? Not really. Deidre and Wendy here both have boyfriends. But, yes, there are a few of us. And the best part is that we really don't have to worry about the coming out process to each other. There are no repercussions for being 'out,' it's just kind of an accepted thing."

"I should go." Kate mumbled, gathering her bag.

"Wait." Blair said, holding up her hand. "Kate, you need someone to talk to, since it sounds like you're getting no support at your school."

Kate slid back into her seat.

"Give me your phone."

"What?"

"I'm going to program my number in."

Kate gulped hard.

"I know that not everyone can afford the Dalton tuition. But no one deserves to be harassed." Blair said, typing furiously onto Kate's iPhone. "If you need me, I'll be there. I don't sleep much and I'll sneak out of class if you need someone to talk to."

"Oh." was all that Kate could say.

On her bus ride home, Kate felt a buzzing in her pocket. She pulled out her phone to see a message from Blair, just reading "courage." She smiled to herself, turning the Justin Timberlake in her headphones up a little louder.


	2. Chapter 2

"Excuse me, I'm new." Blair heard a deep female voice say from behind her. She wheeled around, her gray wool skirt flying out in a circle around her. There stood a tall, thin girl with cropped blond hair and electric blue skinny jeans. She was holding tightly onto a stylish messenger bag, looking positively lost. Her blue eyes seemed extraordinarily large in fear. Or maybe they just looked that way always. Blair felt herself smiling at this stranger, her cheeks aching.

"What's up, new kid?" Blair asked.

"What's going on here?" The blond shyly responded, chewing a little bit on her lower lip.

"The Warblettes are performing." Blair smiled even bigger.

"The show choir? They're cool here?" The girl scrunched her pencil-thin eyebrows in towards her nose.

"The Warblettes are like rock stars." Blair responded.

"I'm Kate." The girl added after a moment, a sea of blue blazers threatening to take her under. She reached out her hand.

"Blair." She grabbed Kate's hand. "Come on, Kate, I'll show you a shortcut."

And they were running through Dalton's back hallway, as if in slow motion. Kate's hand was warm and soft in Blair's. Their shoes clicked on the marble floors, echoing in an endless cyclical rhythm. Blair felt one of her knee socks falling down, but couldn't stop to fix it. Her heart was beating faster by the minute. The pre-performance jitters started to kick in. She wanted to stop and properly introduce herself to Kate, to give her full name and life story and trade bear hugs like she always did with new friends. That was what this feeling was, right? The excitement, the desire to care for this scared, stick-thin girl who had chosen her, Blair, out of everyone on Dalton's winding spiral staircase, to speak to? Friendship. The need to care for someone. It had to be.

But there was no time for deep thought or self-reflection because as soon as the thoughts crept into her mind, Blair was meeting the rest of the Warblettes in formation, and Jennifer was starting the opening rhythm of the song.

_She grabs the yellow bottle, she likes the way it fits her lips_

_She gets to the bottom, it takes her on a trip so right_

_She might be coming home with me tonight_

Blair was in her element. Adrenaline on full-blast, she looked around the room, catching eyes with each and every girl clapping along to her song. She shook her shoulders a bit- the Warblette Shuffle, as everyone called it. Someone cheered from the back of the cluster. She could feel Jennifer's beat boxing in her spine. The Warblettes' backing vocals filled her ears like a thousand buzzing bees.

_She looks like a model, except she got a little more ass_

_Don't even bother unless you move the way that she likes_

_That's why she's coming home with me tonight_

Panning her eyes around the room again, Blair made contact with Kate, towering over the other girls in her high heels. Her face was bright red, the blushing making Blair blush as well. She tried to move her face, to look at someone else, but her eyes stayed locked on Kate's baby blues. Her heart threatened to beat out of her chest, and she wanted to say something, but the Warblettes were singing the prechorus and it was time to join in.

_Those flashing lights come from everywhere_

_They way they hit her, had to stop and stare_

_She's got me lovestoned and I can swear_

_That she knows_

_I think that she knows_

Blair remembered that her sock was about to fall all the way down to her ankle, and stooped to fix it. The movement elicited a few cat-calls from the peanut gallery. She laughed it off, turning the move into a kind of sexy dance. Kate was looking away, her face even more flushed. Blair wanted to make her more at ease, but her line was up again. So she pointed to Kate and did another shimmy.

_Hot damn!_

Before long, the song wound to a close, and the crowd dispersed, off to gather their books for their next classes. Blair approached Kate and elbowed her gently. "Next time, don't forget your blazer, new kid."

Kate blushed again, and Blair was sure that no one had ever been that red except while sunburnt. She opened her mouth to speak, but Wendy grabbed her shoulder and whispered in her ear instead.

"That girl is from McKinley. I think she's spying on us before sectionals."

"Are you sure?" Blair whispered back, glancing over Kate's whole appearance. It did all seem to make sense... everyone got uniforms at Dalton as soon as they register. And heels were forbidden right off the bat. It was basically the first rule anyone learned. Wendy nodded, and Blair turned her attention back to the blond standing oh-so close to her. "Come get a coffee with us, Kate. We want to ask you some questions."


	3. Chapter 3

Blair was in the middle of Latin class, listening to Jennifer recite a portion of the Aeneid, when she felt her phone buzz in her pocket. Looking around to make sure that no one was watching, she unlocked the screen and read a text from Kate.

"911. I need to talk NOW."

Blair surveyed the room again. Jennifer's monotone was putting everyone into a deep stupor. Wendy was fast asleep on her desk. The redhead next to her, Toni, was snoring almost in time with Jennifer's recitation. Even the teacher, Ms. Merriweather, looked like her eyelids might close at any minute. Blair realized that if she can keep her chair from squeaking on the tiled floors, no one would even notice she was gone. She slowly pushed her chair back to give her enough room to leave. Silence. She made a mad rush for the door, grabbing the hall pass on the way out just to be safe. You never knew when Headmaster Smith was roaming the halls, just waiting to put girls in detention for the rest of their adolescent years. Running down the hallways and into the lush bathroom, she pulled out her phone and pulled up Kate's number. She stopped to catch her breath right as she hit "send."

Kate's voice was frantic when she picked up the phone. It's normal sing-song timbre had become irregular and gruff. She sniffled to punctuate her sentences. She sounded hoarse, almost sickly. "I'm freaking out. I can't deal with this." She blubbered.

"Yes you can." Blair replied, cooing into the phone. "Just tell me what happened."

Kate recounted the whole story. Dana Karofsky, the head of the cheerleading squad, had always held a special place of contempt for her. The teasing started off simple enough... a throwaway comment here, slipping a note into her locker there. Pretty soon, the phrase, "Kate Hummel is a dyke" was scribbled on the bathroom wall. There was no proof, but she knew who it was. There was no question. Before long, Karofsky was pushing Kate into lockers. Her lackey, Azalea Adams, had joined in the fun as well, throwing slushies in Kate's face and kicking the backs of her knees whenever the opportunity arose. And then, everything changed.

Kate's voice broke. "Blair, I can't. I just can't anymore."

"It's okay. You don't have to talk about it if it makes you too uncomfortable." Blair sighed, although she really wanted to hear what happened.

"No, I want to tell you." Kate muttered. "It's just tough."

"I understand. Take your time." Blair said.

Kate took a deep breath. "Karofsky pushed me into a locker and I fell. I was sitting on the ground, about to cry, and you sent me a text saying 'courage.' Great timing, I guess."

Blair smiled. She knew exactly the text that Kate was talking about. Kate had texted her earlier that day, saying that she was having a bad day. Blair had responded with her go-to "courage" text that she used to make people feel better. It was a word she could always use to show affection for someone when she wasn't sure what to say.

Kate continued the story. "I was that text, and I knew I had to do something. I had to stand up to her. So I followed her into the girls' locker room. I told her to shut up, that she couldn't punch the gay out of me any more than I could punch the ignorance out of her."

"And then?" Blair asked, dreading the answer.

"She kissed me, Blair. She grabbed my face and kissed me."

Blair couldn't speak. She stood in the bathroom, mouth agape, just breathing. She could hear Kate crying on the other line. "I'm skipping my next class. We need to meet up and work this out." She finally answered.

"I can't make you do that." Kate sniffled.

"You aren't making me. I want to do it." Blair told her. "I'll meet you at McKinley in an hour."

Sure enough, an hour later, the two girls were leaned up against the chickenwire fence that enclosed a staircase down to the school courtyard. The sun was beating down on Blair's blazer, making her sweat a little bit. Kate fiddled with a thread on her tank top. She was dressed, as usual, more like she was ready to strut down a runway than down the hallways of a public school in Ohio. Blair looked at her with a kind of maternal pride. She was glad to be seen with this person, to have someone so completely secure in her life.

"Maybe she's not coming." Kate shrugged, forcing Blair out of her reverie.

"You said she walks this way every day." Blair stated. "She'll be by."

As if on cue, Karofsky strutted by the duo, immersed in her own thoughts. Blair instinctively grabbed Kate's hand, squeezing her palm tight. Kate inhaled sharply, but squeezed onto her fingers nonetheless. Kate reached out and tapped Karofsky's shoulder. "We need to talk." She stated quietly.

"We have nothing to talk about." Karofsky mumbled.

Blair rolled her eyes. "Dana, right?" She offered her hand to the tall, broad-shouldered brunette.

"What's it to you?" Karofsky responded, re-doing her ponytail. "And more importantly, who the Hell are you?"

"My name is Blair Anderson. I'm a friend of Kate's. And I know what happened earlier today." Blair smiled.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Karofsky grumbled. She ran a hand through her ponytail to smooth out any knots. Her eyes darted between Kate and Blair, full of anger and fear.

"Listen, Dana, I'm going to be honest with you. I know you're going through a tough time right now. But you're not alone. Kate and I both understand what you're going through all too well. And if you'd just talk to us about what you're feeling, you'd feel so much better." Blair grabbed both sides of Karofsky's hands with her own. She quickly wiggled free and darted down the stairs.

Turning around to take one last look at the two girls, Karofsky spat, "Get away from me you... you freaks." She stormed away.

"Well, she's not coming out any time soon." Blair sighed, leaning back against the fence. Kate laughed nervously, and Blair pulled her in for a short hug.


	4. Chapter 4

Kate went over to Blair's house for the first time just a few short weeks after they had met. It was Blair's younger brother's birthday, and she had so humbly requested a non-related female companion for the occasion. Kate was honored that Blair had thought of her, and hoped that this meant that they were well on their way to a real-life relationship. Kate imagined the two of them kissing on the swingset in Blair's back yard, children happily eating cake around them. It would be just like a scene from a movie.

Unfortunately for Kate, Blair failed to mention that birthdays at the Anderson household meant a little more work than just passing out ice cream cake to her brother's friends. It meant reigning in dozens of hyperactive pre-teenage boys who had more interest in hitting each other with plastic swords than maintaining the pristine condition of the Andersons' back yard. This, of course, meant cleanup duty after the boys had gone home. So, when Kate showed up at the house in her typical stiletto heels and sweaterdress, Blair burst into laughter.

"What's the problem? Is my skirt too short?" Kate asked, tugging at the hem of her dress.

Blair glanced at the fabric right above Kate's knees and shook her head, smirking. Leave it to Kate to wear that dress to chase 10-year-old boys around. "It looks fine. You're just a little overdressed is all. We're kind of on cleanup duty today. And energy management duty." Kate blushed, and Blair was sure that it was the most adorable blush anyone had ever done, ever. "No big." Blair continued. "I have some old jeans that will probably fit. You're, what, a four? Six?"

"Thereabouts. I'm sorry that you have to-"

"Hush." Blair laughed, waving Kate's worries away. "I have clothes that haven't fit in years. Consider them yours." The two raced up to Blair's room to get changed. Kate stood at the threshold of the room for a moment, soaking the entire scene in. This was Blair's bedroom. This was that magical place where she spent her childhood. This was where she spent her nights and undressed before she got in the shower.

Blair's laughter shook Kate out of her thoughts. "Come get dressed, Fool!" Blair called. Kate grabbed the jeans and t-shirt out of Blair's hands and self-consciously shimmied out of her dress to change clothes. Blair covered her eyes to give Kate a sense of pseudo-privacy. She managed to sneak a peek or two from in between her fingers, though, and kept her eyes focused on her friend's navel. Her stomach was a ghostly white, reminding Blair of portraits of Marie Antoinette. The pale pink bra covering her breasts made something grumble in the hollows of Blair's spine. She shook away the feeling and focused instead on the way her jeans fit so snugly and perfectly on Kate's narrow hips.

That didn't help.

With a sigh, Kate shimmied Blair's t-shirt over her shoulders. "You can look now." She mumbled.

Blair giggled, not wanting to share that that she had already been looking. "You look fantastic," she cooed, mussing up Kate's hair a bit. "ready to serve cake to twenty hyperactive boys?"

Kate smiled. "If you're there, I'm ready."

Four hours later, the two girls slid into the same side of a booth at Breadstix. On the other side of the table, Kate's friend, Michael Jones, was checking his watch. "Y'all are late." He sighed.

"We were cleaning up after my brother's birthday party." Blair mumbled, indicating a frosting stain on her shirt. "Sorry we're late."

Michael shrugged, flagging down the waiter. "Excuse me, I know it's not on the menu, but I was wondering if you had..."

"Tater tots? You must go to McKinley. I'll bring some out." The waiter laughed, patting Michael on the shoulder.

"What's up with the tater tots?" Blair asked, examining the pastas on the menu.

"Coach Sylvester took over the principal position and got rid of the tater tots at school. Everyone has kind of been going nuts." Kate said into her menu. "Michael has been dying for some tots all week."

He stared into space. Kate shook her head and turned to Blair instead. "Have you seen the last season of 'the L Word yet'?"

Blair looked around the room, keeping eerily silent. Kate bit her lip nervously. "Of course I have!" Blair blurted out. Kate giggled into her bread sticks.

"You had me so worried!" She squealed.

Blair grabbed her hand over the table. "Okay, on the count of three, let's name our favorite Curve Magazine cover." She shrugged her shoulders excitedly. "1... 2... 3..."

"Michelle Rodriguez" they said in unison.

"Oh my goodness!" Kate screeched, her hands flying to her face.

"Stop it!" Blair moaned out at the same time, a laugh rising in her voice.

"Just... how flawless is she?" Kate said, grabbing hold of Blair's arm.

"So fabulous. Did you see her on Lost?" Blair fanned herself excitedly.

"Um, yes! So jealous of Sawyer." Kate smiled. "Michael, what do you think?"

His eyes sprung open. "What? Totally. I completely agree."

"We're talking about Michelle Rodriguez, sweetie." Kate muttered.

Blair looked at Kate with big doe eyes, and then to Michael. "I think we're boring him. We can talk about something you're interested in, bro. How about the Buckeyes this season? I'm pretty interested in football, you know."

Kate giggled. "Way to fulfill the stereotype." She reached out for a high five from Blair. Blair shook her head.

"I'm sorry. I'm just distracted tonight." Michael sighed.

Kate grabbed onto his hand and smiled. "I got you. Now, tell us about what's going on in your world."


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Oh sweet mother of Abraham Lincoln, I FINALLY finished this chapter. It took an awful long time for some reason. Point is, it's done, here it is, and I'll hopefully be updating the other stories soon. Yep. Tell your friends.

* * *

><p>Blair was up to her elbows in English homework on a Tuesday afternoon. She had just gotten over a particularly heinous cold, and was catching up on the reading she had missed while sleeping it off in a Nyquil haze. Her blazer was crumbled up over the back of the desk chair in her dorm room. The <em>Lord of the Rings<em> soundtrack was blaring on her laptop speakers so loudly that she didn't hear her phone buzzing next to her. During the silence in between songs, she finally heard the familiar fuzzy version of "Teenage Dream" beating against the desk. Lighting up on the screen was Kate's face, laughing at something she doubted either one of them could remember.

"What's up, buttercup?" Blair smiled, picking up the phone. "And make it snappy, I've got to get my Gatsby on."

Kate was screaming on the other line. Well, not screaming, more like squealing at a high frequency that betrayed her typically deep voice. Blair couldn't see it, but Kate was jumping up and down, the pom-poms on her winter hat flopping everywhere. The soles of her stilettos clicked on the bathroom floor where she was sneaking a call to her new best friend. Blair heard only the words, "Mom," "wedding," and "locker" out of the rush of sounds that Kate made.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Blair asked, turning her music down. "Is everything okay?"

"Everything is awesome!" Kate squealed, trying to catch her breath. "Mom and Fiona's dad just showed up at school. They came dragged me over to her locker, and told us that they're getting married! Isn't it just perfect?" Kate was jumping again, unable to contain her excitement. "Oh, the Glee club is doing the music for the reception and I'm the maid of honor and I get to pick out a gorgeous dress! I'm thinking green or maybe blue to match my eyes and-"

Blair cut her off with a laugh. "Calm down, sweetie. We'll go dress shopping this weekend. I've been dying to check out the new Nordstrom at the Westerville Mall." She wrapped a curl around her index finger and watched it unfurl. Kate was still squealing on the other line about something or another, and it was adorable, albeit a little bit annoying. But, Blair just had to smile at her friend's excitement. It was the first true happiness she had heard in the girl's voice for months, and Blair knew that she would let Kate rave and rant for as long as possible to keep the joy going. The bell at McKinley rang, and Kate muttered that she had to leave for class before hanging up abruptly. Blair shook her head and laugh, diving back into her homework.

No sooner had Kate left the bathroom when a strong, callused hand reached out and pushed her against the nearest locker. Her arm was aching, the tender beginnings of a bruise starting almost immediately. Kate looked over her shoulder and saw Karfosky's muscular back walking away. Her hands were laced behind the small of her back, thumbs drawing circles in the air. Kate sighed, but decided not to follow Karfosky, instead heading to the choir room. Her friends were already there, lounging in the plastic blue chairs that lined the risers. She huffed as she sat down backwards in one of the chairs, her legs straddling its back.

"I can't deal with this anymore." She muttered to no one.

Michael slid over to the seat in front of her, and put his hand on hers. "What's wrong, kiddo? You were so thrilled about the wedding this morning." Of course, Michael had been the first to know about the Hummel/Husdon's upcoming nuptials, and was already planning to be Kate's date to the reception. "Did Karfosky do something? Because I can-"

Kate shook her head. "I don't expect you to. I just wish that someone who wasn't me would step in."

Michael shrugged his broad shoulders. "Why don't you talk to Coach Sylvester? He always liked you, and he's the acting principal still."

"I did." Kate said, deflating. "He said that there's nothing he can do without proof. And, unfortunately, it's all hearsay at this point."

"That's crap." Michael leaned his head onto Kate's hands.

"Yep." Kate agreed, trying to free her fingers from his heavy head.

* * *

><p>After Glee practice that day, Michael called the other boys into the locker room. "Kate's in trouble." He sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "Karofsky hasn't held back at all. It's time we step in."<p>

"Wouldn't it be best to just let them take care if it themselves?" Quincy asked, examining a speck of dirt under his fingernails. He was a tall, thin boy with cropped blond hair. His green eyes were always looking around the room, trying to decipher everyone's intentions. "Not really our problem."

"That's a terrible attitude." Ryan exclaimed. He all but jumped up onto a bench in the locker room. Crossing his arms, he decided instead to walk directly up to Quincy. "We're a team, Q. Remember how much we did for you last year? How helpful Kate was? The least you could do was tell Fiona to tell Karofsky to back off."

"Hold on." Tim raised a hand to halt the speech that was about to come out of Ryan's mouth. "Are you seriously suggesting that we put our _girlfriends_ up to fixing this? What happened to your sense of chivalry?"

"Chivalry's dead, bro." Michael mumbled, rubbing his temples. "It's a terrible idea, Ryan, but you have a point. We can't exactly go in and announce that Karofsky should leave Kate alone. It would be too aggressive."

"So we tell our girlfriends to corner Karofsky after soccer practice and tell her to back up?" Sanchez half-asked. "Sounds weird, but I guess I can-"

Quincy silenced him with a glare. "Who in the hell are YOU dating now?"

"I'm dating Nancy." Sanchez shrugged.

"You're getting naked with Nancy." Quincy rolled his eyes.

"Irrelevant." Michael waved the impending argument away. "I'm not dating any of the soccer players either, but I'm close with all the girls. I'll spread the news to them."

They were all about to leave when Quincy noticed Brian's hand shyly raised. "What is it, B?" He asked.

"If getting naked with someone means that they're dating, are Sanchez and I dating?" He asked, confused.

"Don't worry about it." Sanchez snapped.

* * *

><p>Sure enough, the next day, the girls cornered Karofsky in the locker room after soccer practice while she was changing back into her normal clothes. Michelle was the first to speak up, tucking her jet-black hair behind her ears.<p>

"What you're doing to Kate isn't cool." She plainly stated, looking Karofsky dead in the eyes.

"And what is that, exactly?" Karfosky scoffed, pulling her shirt over her head.

"Pushing her into lockers, calling her names, the usual." Samantha added, pulling her blonde hair into a ponytail. "It's not okay and we're not going to stand for it."

"Make me." Karofsky growled. "You Glee girls think you're so tough just because you can sing and dance? Please. You wouldn't last a second in a real fight." And as soon as the words left her mouth, she was flat on the floor, and Samantha was cupping her right knuckles with her left hand.

"You're so pathetic." Samantha spat at the brunette on the ground. "Take me. Take on someone your own size, if you have the guts to do it." In a flash, Karofsky was off the ground and on top of Samantha, pulling at her hair with one hand and laying punch after punch with the other. The two cried out strings of obscenities, drawing the attention of the other girls in the room. Before long, Michelle and Nancy were doing their best to pull Samantha off Karofsky while the other soccer players joined in with extra punches and kicks to the blond. A loud whistle made them all stop and look at its source. Coach Bieste was glaring at the cluster of girls before him, half of them with bloodied noses.

"Coach Sylvester's office. Now." He shouted.

* * *

><p>Kate was understandably nervous to be called into Coach Sylvester's office yet again. The last time she had been called into the principal's office, she had been told that her mother was in a coma. It wasn't exactly a performance she wanted to repeat. She saw the other Glee girls in the office already, and wasn't completely sure what to expect. But, sitting down and seeing their faces, she knew that something had finally cracked. Samantha's nose was broken and bloody, and her eyes bloodshot. Michelle's knuckles were raw, and there was a gash up her calf. Even Ariana, wheelchair-bound, still looked as though she had obtained a few cuts and scrapes in whatever had happened.<p>

"What's going on?" Kate asked, not sure she wanted to know the answer.

"Your friends have something to tell you." Coach Sylvester said, indicating the group of wounded soccer players.

"We tried to talk to Karofsky for you." Samantha began. "Things got out of control. We're really sorry."

"You guys know you can't fight my battles, right?" Kate asked, knowing that the question would barely make a difference. "I'm my own person, I'll deal with it."

"But you're not dealing with it, Kate." Michelle added. "We've all seen how sullen you've been. We just wanted to help out, I guess."

Coach Sylvester sighed audibly. "Kate, I've agreed to let your friends get off with two days of in-school suspension provided that they apologize to both you and Dana. Is that acceptable?"

Kate nodded silently. "Is that all?" She finally added after a long pause.

"Just so long as you promise to come to me, and only me, if anything else should come up. Do you understand?" Kate nodded and made her way out into the hallway, ready to call Blair for some kind of moral support. Before she could, though, two muscular arms had pinned her against the wall.

"What the Hell was that?" Karofsky growled. "Sending your little musical theater friends after me?"

"I had nothing to do with that." Kate whined. "Please let me go."

"If you tell them about us like you told your stupid little girlfriend, you're dead." Karfosky replied. And, as quickly as she had appeared, she was gone. Tears were falling out of Kate's eyes, and she could barely keep herself composed as she ran into the bathroom for what felt like the thousandth time this week. She pulled up Blair's number and dialed.

* * *

><p>"Are you sure about this?" Blair asked over a cup of coffee that afternoon. "This is a huge deal. You can't just decide at the flip of a switch."<p>

"I'm completely sure." Kate replied. "I'm transferring to Dalton. I don't care what I have to do to get there, I'll find a way to pay for it."

Blair traced the rim of the cardboard cup with her bitten fingernail. She let the silence float over the two of them for a moment before finally acquiescing with a sigh. "Fine. I'll be glad to have you there with me. And I'll put in a good word with the Warblers for you."

Kate squealed and almost knocked the table in between them over while closing in for a hug. She stopped suddenly when she realized that the people around the two friends had started to stare. Taking her seat again, she whispered a quick "sorry," and re-folded the pleats in her skirt. Blair just smiled at the blond nymph before her, torn between laughter and tears.


End file.
